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How Does Pecola Affect Society

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Toni Morrison’s novel The Bluest Eyes is about a young adolescent girl named Pecola who made no attempt to fight back against those who mocked her or damaged her body and mentality. Pecola’s peculiarness caused the people around her to become aware of her difference, which made them hate her for the ugliness that reflected in themselves. My opinion of this novel is that Morrison inserted a society where they used Pecola as a punching bag, and a scapegoat to illuminate the superficialness of perceived beauty in the novel. I think Morrison was trying to highlight how beauty and love can go hand-in-hand; but the two factors can be destructive as well if one has neither of them. If someone is beautiful, then they will be loved more than a less beautiful person---Pecola is considered “ugly” and she wants to look like talented and beautiful Shirley Temple who is an idol among society. Pecola’s life was also lacking love as it did beauty---her household had no time for affection, and her parents were bitter and engrossed in their own reality. The lack of love and lack of beauty hurt Pecola along with the mockery and damage she received from society caused her to isolate herself by becoming insane so she could not be hurt ever again. In the first …show more content…

Bury the money...and plant the seeds’ “ (192). It was a sad scene to portray, because even if Claudia and Frieda prayed hard everyday, Pecola’s baby did not survive either way. The scene met my expectation with the actresses kneeling down and planting the seeds then praying for a miracle to happen. I could feel the powerful yet sorrowful desire coming from them. Claudia and Frieda were really the only two who showed sympathy for Pecola, and treated her normally, that is until she got pregnant and went

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